RockYacht2020
Well-Known Member
What's the best practice for putting on the spare for stock Rebels?
The situation: Had my first flat in the woods this weekend. Still running stock tires and wheels, so yes, the Falken is 1" smaller than my other 3 DuraTracs. I got a flat tire on my driver's side rear wheel. I was towing my trailer, and driving off-road in 4WD High (no locker). So where should I put the smaller spare?
In my Subaru AWD, it basically says in the manual, "we're stupid and gave you a smaller donut spare and have the tightest tolerance AWD in the industry, so we don't really recommend you drive with the spare at all; just pull over to the side of the road and pout until someone comes along with a new car for you." It does, however, say to put the donut on the rear. But after the one time I had to drive 80 miles on the interstate on a holiday weekend on the donut, I went and got a full-size spare for all my off-road exploration adventures. Problem solved.
I looked in the Rebel manual, and admittedly it was hot and I was just eager to get back up and running again, but I didn't see anything specific on whether the tire should go on the front or rear. In 2WD front drive cars (like sedans), I get that it would be prudent to put the spare on the rear so it doesn't affect power or handling. On AWD, again, it makes sense to put it on the rear so handling isn't affected. But in the Rebel, with 4WD, rear makes sense, but once you're back in 2WD and on pavement, now you've got mismatched sizes on the drive axle.
So what would the truck geeks in here say: smaller spare on the front, knowing it's still a real 32" A/T tire, or put it on the rear with no locker and save the best handling for turns up front? FWIW, I left it on the rear, because it was easiest.
The situation: Had my first flat in the woods this weekend. Still running stock tires and wheels, so yes, the Falken is 1" smaller than my other 3 DuraTracs. I got a flat tire on my driver's side rear wheel. I was towing my trailer, and driving off-road in 4WD High (no locker). So where should I put the smaller spare?
In my Subaru AWD, it basically says in the manual, "we're stupid and gave you a smaller donut spare and have the tightest tolerance AWD in the industry, so we don't really recommend you drive with the spare at all; just pull over to the side of the road and pout until someone comes along with a new car for you." It does, however, say to put the donut on the rear. But after the one time I had to drive 80 miles on the interstate on a holiday weekend on the donut, I went and got a full-size spare for all my off-road exploration adventures. Problem solved.
I looked in the Rebel manual, and admittedly it was hot and I was just eager to get back up and running again, but I didn't see anything specific on whether the tire should go on the front or rear. In 2WD front drive cars (like sedans), I get that it would be prudent to put the spare on the rear so it doesn't affect power or handling. On AWD, again, it makes sense to put it on the rear so handling isn't affected. But in the Rebel, with 4WD, rear makes sense, but once you're back in 2WD and on pavement, now you've got mismatched sizes on the drive axle.
So what would the truck geeks in here say: smaller spare on the front, knowing it's still a real 32" A/T tire, or put it on the rear with no locker and save the best handling for turns up front? FWIW, I left it on the rear, because it was easiest.